The Administrative System in France

Abstract

Western democracies have evolved systems which balance political direction and control against the need for effective and efficient management of the administrative functions which complex modern societies require. It is impossible to understand French public and political life without some understanding of the role which the French administration plays within society. This chapter considers first a number of ways in which the French administrative system is distinctive and secondly some of the consequences of this distinctive-ness and the explanations that have been offered for these consequences.